My Time At Old Willie's Studio
It was surreal, to say the least, when I was handed the key to his studio in Pedernales. It was as if lead in my pocket and upon first opening the door, a picture of him bore right into me as if to say, "you got in, boy, now make me proud." The view of the Pedernales River coupled with the olympic sized pool beneath the back deck, made the experience even more fantastical. Not to mention the "tape room" where thick, silver disks of the musical greats sat piled upon each other in an almost nonchalant, ironic fashion. In the control room is where I began to realize the capacity of where I was at that point in my life. To my left, a vintage Neve pre-amp and right before me, a massive SSL board that sprawled like an ocean of knobs and gauges. To think the greats like old Willie himself, Robert Earl Keen and even "Old Blue Eyes" once sat right where I did, was overwhelming. I could see my dim reflection on the thick glass that looked out into the main recordi